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Policymaking News

Hawaii: Special Session Convenes

August 28, 2017

Lawmakers return to the capitol today to convene a five-day special session to attempt a bail-out of Honolulu’s financially-strapped rail project. The proposal calls for a one-percent hike in the statewide hotel tax and an extension of the one-half-percent excise tax surcharge on Oahu for three years. The measures should raise $2.37 billion in new revenue for the project. The City of Honolulu must meet a September 15 deadline from the Federal Transit Administration to indicate its plans to cover the funding shortfall.